torrential
Americanadjective
-
of or relating to a torrent
-
pouring or flowing fast, violently, or heavily
torrential rain
-
abundant, overwhelming, or irrepressible
torrential abuse
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of torrential
Explanation
If it's raining extremely hard, then the rain is torrential — it's absolutely pouring. Use torrential to describe something that's happening in torrents, or turbulent flowing streams. When there's a torrential storm, there's so much rain falling so fast that you'll be soaked in about three seconds. If a basketball team's offense just keeps coming and won't stop, you could call it a torrential attack. And if you take your sister's shoes without asking, she might shower you with a torrential tongue-lashing.
Vocabulary lists containing torrential
I Am Malala
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
After firefighters extinguished the Jan. 1 blaze, torrential winds reignited the embers a week later.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 24, 2026
The third and longest day of the challenge, on Wednesday, was dogged by torrential rain and an unexpected reroute caused by a fire.
From BBC • May 15, 2026
Last year, 80 percent of Bogus Basin’s pile survived torrential rainstorms and stretches of record summer heat.
From Slate • Apr. 11, 2026
Los Angeles motorists and pedestrians aren’t the only ones who struggle to navigate torrential rain.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 28, 2026
Brewing high thunderheads, he churned the deep with both hands on his trident—called up wind from every quarter, and sent a wall of rain to blot out land and sea in torrential night.
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
